Acts 17:16-21
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?”
Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
Verse 16 states that Paul’s “spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city (Athens) was given over to idols.” This, in turn, led Paul to engage in conversations with the Athenians in the marketplace daily and caused some to believe that Paul was a “proclaimer of foreign gods.” Would that we knew exactly what those conversations entailed; we don’t, of course, because the Holy Spirit has not revealed that information.
What we do know is that Athens was basically a polytheistic city; it held to the idea of many gods. Greek gods filled the lives and superstitions of all its residents – gods which must be placated, pleased, and kept happy…or else!
However, today’s text reveals that the Athenians expressed some interest in Paul’s message. This reminds us that in this ungodly world we never know when or where God will give us opportunities to speak to others about Him. Most often we will meet with opposition, but there will be times when we are called upon to confess the faith and speak clearly about God’s work of paying for the sins of all mankind in His Son Jesus, and that folks actually will want to hear what we have to say. Thanks be to God when they do!
This world is full of idols – things and people that replace the one true God. And every time we notice this, our spirit, like Paul’s, should also be “provoked within” us. We Christians must never give credence to any but the one true God for, of a truth, all other gods are false. We have the only saving message in all the world, that Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son, took on our human flesh, lived in perfect obedience to God for us, suffered and died for us, and then rose again to defeat even death for us. His payment for all our sins has set us free to live a life of thanksgiving and praise to God for His great love. May that move us to speak truthfully and lovingly to anyone who may listen.
Let us pray: O Lord, open my lips that my mouth may proclaim Your praise. Amen.
